LatinNews Daily - 28 June 2023

* Ecuador’s government has announced the start of precontractual procedures to obtain credit lines from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the construction of a 500kV power line between Ecuador and Peru, which will significantly expand the capacity for electricity transmission between the two countries. According to a press release by Ecuador’s state-owned power generation company, Celec, the EIB and IDB will each contribute US$125m to the project on the Ecuadorean side, estimated at US$289m, with Celec providing the rest. An IDB press release dated November 2022 notes that the line on the Peruvian side will be financed by Peru’s private sector. On the Ecuadorean side, authorities plan to install two transmission lines covering 280km, as well as a new electrical substation. The IDB press release states that trade in electricity is expected to “increase significantly following the completion of the five-year project”. It says that interconnection will “boost cross-border transmission capacity to 680 MW from the current 80 MW, making it easier for the two countries to exchange surplus electricity”.